Billy Batson (New Earth)
__TOC__ .]] Billy was separated from his sister Mary following the death of their parents and left in the care of their uncle Ebenezer, his father's half-brother. Unfortunately, Ebenezer threw Billy out and stole the youth's trust fund money which had been set aside for Billy's care and welfare. Left penniless and homeless, Billy eked out a sorrowful existence in Fawcett City as a newsboy. For shelter, he often slept in the subway terminals. One night, a mysterious stranger - later revealed to be the spirit of Billy's father - convinced Billy to follow him deep into the subway tunnels. There, Billy found a marvelous train decorated in hieroglyphics and mystic runes. Billy and the stranger rode the train deep into the bowles of the earth and arrived in a cavern that held statues epitomizing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, including Envy, Lust, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness, and Injustice. Within the cavern, Billy met the ancient wizard Shazam, a champion of mankind for thousands of years. Withered with age, Shazam sat on a throne poised benaeth a giant stone block suspended above him as if by magic. There, the ancient wizard revealed that he had selected Billy to be his champion to fight for good as the "strongest and mightiest man in the world--Captain Marvel!" To that end, Shazam ordered Billy to speak his name, which was actually an acronym for various legendary figures who had agreed to grant aspects of themselves to a willing subject: S''' - for the wisdom of Solomon '''H - for the strength of Hercules A''' - for the stamina of Atlas '''Z - for the power of Zeus (which enhances all Marvel's other physical abilities and allows for interdimensional travel) A''' - for the courage of Achilles (which would include invulnerability from ancient mythology) '''M - for the speed of Mercury (and, by extension, the power to fly) Billy then said the wizard's name, and was immediately struck by a magic lightning bolt, turning him into Captain Marvel, an adult superhero. He then learned that he has only to speak the word again to be instantly changed back into Billy. With that, Shazam was immediately killed by the large granite block that fell from above his throne. Billy vowed to fulfill his bestowed role. Whenever he needed advice, Billy could light a brazier near Shazam's throne, summoning the wizard's ghost. Marvel's first call to duty was saving the world from the evil mad scientist, Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana, who threatened to silence radio forever unless he was paid a large sum of money. Resuming his regular form, Billy told WHIZ radio mogul Sterling Morris that he could stop the Radio Silencer and Sivana; a disbelieving Morris offered Billy a job on the air if he could do so. After finding the crooks' hideout, Billy transformed into Captain Marvel, destroyed Sivana's radio silencing machine and apprehended his henchmen. Sivana escaped, setting the stage for a long line of future confrontations. Marvel transformed back into Billy, who presented the captured criminals and destroyed Radio Silencer to Sterling Morris. True to his word, Sterling Morris made Billy an on-air news reporter for WHIZ radio. Through his adventures, he soon gained a host of enemies, including Adolf Hitler's champion Captain Nazi, an older Egyptian renegade Marvel called Black Adam, an evil magic-powered brute named Ibac, and an artificially intelligent nuclear-powered robot called Mister Atom. The most notorious Captain Marvel villains, however, were the nefarious Mister Mind and his Monster Society Of Evil, which recruited several of Marvel's previous adversaries. In the early 1940s, Captain Marvel also gained allies in The Marvel Family, a collective of superheroes with similar powers and costumes to Captain Marvel's. (By comparison, Superman spin-off character Superboy first appeared in 1944, while Supergirl first appeared in 1959). Early on marked the debut of the Lieutenant Marvels, the alter egos of three other boys who found that, by saying "Shazam!" in unison, they too could become Marvels. Soon a friend named Freddy Freeman, mortally wounded by an attack from Captain Nazi, was given the power to become teenage boy superhero Captain Marvel, Jr.. Eventually Billy and Freddy met Billy's long-lost twin sister Mary Bromfield, who discovered she could, by saying the magic word "Shazam", become teenage superheroine Mary Marvel. The first post-Crisis appearance of Captain Marvel was in the 1986 Legends miniseries. In 1987, Captain Marvel appeared as a member of the Justice League. That same year, he was also given his own miniseries, Shazam! The New Beginning. With the four-issue miniseries, writers Roy and Dann Thomas and artist Tom Mandrake attempted to re-launch the Captain Marvel mythos and bring the wizard Shazam, Doctor Sivana, Uncle Dudley, and Black Adam into the modern DC Universe with an altered origin story. In this miniseries, both Sivana and Dudley were Billy Batson's real uncles, who fought over the custody for the boy after his parents were killed (by Sivana) in a car accident. Black Adam is also present in the story as Sivana's partner in crime. The most notable change that Thomas and Justice League writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis introduced into the Captain Marvel mythos was that the personality of young Billy Batson is retained when he transforms into the Captain (classic-era comics tended to treat Captain Marvel and Billy as two separate personalities). This change would remain for all future uses of the character as justification for his sunny, Golden-Age personality in the darker modern-day comic book world. (Captain Marvel's Justice League teammate Guy Gardner often jokingly referred to the innocent, pure-hearted Captain as "Captain Whitebread"). Another notable change in this version was the relocation of the Shazam characters from Fawcett City to San Francisco. The Power of Shazam In this version of the story, Billy's parents - archaeologists C. C. and Marylin Batson - were killed by their treacherous assistant, Theo Adam, while on a dig at the tomb of Ramese II at Abu Simbel, Egypt. Theo Adam was the resurrected non-powered form of Theo Adam. He also kidnaps Billy's sister Mary, who ends up missing. The wizard Shazam is made aware of all of these events, and (just as in the Fawcett origin) has Billy brought before him by the dark-clothed stranger, and grants the boy the power to become Captain Marvel. As Captain Marvel, Billy takes on the form of his late father, which is how Theo Adam guesses his identity, has a revelation about the power of Shazam, and becomes Black Adam using a scarab he stole from the tomb. After subduing Black Adam and his employer, the rich tycoon Doctor Sivana, Billy swears to find his sister as Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel became a member of the revived Justice Society of America and was featured prominently in that group alongside his nemesis Black Adam. Captain Marvel had originally joined the team to keep an eye on Adam, who had joined the JSA claiming to have reformed. Black Adam eventually left the JSA to instigate a takeover of his home country of Kahndaq; he had a fondess for the country, and wished to see the totalitarian regime done away in what he saw as justice. Captain Marvel remained with the team. During his tenure in the JSA, Marvel dated Courtney Whitmore, also known as Stargirl, which put him in an unusual position; while he could legally date Courtney as Billy Batson, it looked very strange for the grown-up Captain Marvel to be with the teenaged Stargirl. The Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, another JSA member, confronted Marvel about the issue. Rather than telling Garrick and the team the truth about his age, Marvel chose to follow the Wisdom of Solomon and leave the team and Courtney. .]] The Marvel Family played an integral part the Infinite Crisis. The climax of the Day of Vengeance saw the Spectre engaged in a cosmic-level battle with the wizard Shazam. At the conclusion of this battle, Shazam was obliterated, and the Rock of Eternity burst apart into Earth's dimension, freeing scores of ancient magicks and evils that had been captured eons ago back into the Universe. In a later Day of Vengeance one-shot special, Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family then helped Zatanna and several other beings to capture the Seven Deadly Sins and rebuild the Rock of Eternity. Captain Marvel was then required to take over Shazam's role as caretaker of the Rock. Marvel was later shown fulfilling this role, although teetering on the brink of sanity, constantly talking back to the Seven Sins around him. During this time, Marvel was shown helping Black Adam grant Adrianna Tomaz the powers of the goddess Isis. Later that year, Captain Marvel presided at the marriage ceremony of Adam and Isis in Kahndaq. Black Adam's continued attempts to reform, and depicted Adam's formation of, with Captain Marvel's blessing, a "Black Marvel Family". Joining Black Adam in the Black Marvel Family were his wife Isis and her brother Osiris. Isis and Osiris are murdered by the "Four Horsemen", creatures engineered by a team of DC's mad scientist characters (Dr. Sivana among them). As a result, Black Adam takes his revenge out on the entire world, killing millions. Black Adam is halted for a few minutes, just the time needed for Captain Marvel to force a magic lightning bolt on him, turning Black Adam back to Teth-Adam and changing his magic word into an unknown one. ''Trials of Shazam! Currently Captain Marvel (now with long white hair) taking over the role of the wizard Shazam waits, while a powerless Freddy Freeman (formerly Captain Marvel, Jr.) attempts to prove himself worthy to take over the mantle of Captain Marvel by undergoing a series of trials. | Powers = right|thumb|Captain Marvel vs. Spectre '''Known Powers:' Power of Shazam: In order to change form, Billy must be able to call upon the name of Shazam, thereby invoking spells involving the energies of those extra-dimensional beings once known as gods on earth. This spell adds almost a hundred pound of impervious godly muscle and tissue to his frame as well as aging him into adulthood. This spell seems to be solely vocal; he cannot access this spell if he is gagged or hampered in some way from talking. The precision of this spell is somewhat askew. He can share his power with Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., but while in this state, each person is only in possession of a fragment of the full power of Captain Marvel as opposed to one person commanding all of it. By calling upon Shazam again, each member of the Marvels can once again return to their normal form and size; thereby allowing one of their number, such as Billy or Mary, to have the full power of the spell. There is one susceptibility to the spell that it can be shared with other personages who are of noble intent and purity, such as Superman, who once switched identities and powers with Captain Marvel, after being in close proximity with Billy Batson during one transformation. It is known that certain gods of sufficient power, such as Thor, can manipulate Shazam's spell and render Captain Marvel back to the human form of Billy Batson once more. When Billy Batson says the magic word "Shazam!", he is transformed into Captain Marvel. In his Captain Marvel form, Billy possesses the following attributes: :S for the Wisdom of Solomon: As Captain Marvel, Billy has instant access to a vast amount of scholarly knowledge. The wisdom of Solomon also gives Marvel clairvoyance and provides him with counsel and advice in times of need. He has knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern, and could hypnotize people through this power. :*''Superhuman Knowledge: Captain Marvel has exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing him to read and decipher hieroglyphics, recall everything he has ever learn, solve long mathematical equations instantaneously and make intuitive guesses based on limited data to the point his guesses are almost always correct. :*Clairvoyance'' :*''Omni-lingual'' :*''Hypnosis: can occasionally hypnotize people as well, through this power. :'H for the Strength of Hercules': Dubbed "The World's Mightiest Mortal," Captain Marvel has incredible amounts of super strength, able to easily bend steel, punch through walls, and lift massive objects. Marvel's strength is enough that he has fought beings such as Superman or Wonder Woman to a standstill. :*Superhuman Strength: Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight. :'A for the Stamina of Atlas': Using Atlas' endurance, Captain Marvel can withstand and survive most types of extreme physical assaults. Additionally, he does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe when in Captain Marvel form. :*Superhuman Stamina: His Olympian metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. :*Self-Sustenance: Additionally, he does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe and can survive unaided in space when in Captain Marvel form. :'Z for the Power of Zeus': Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transforms Captain Marvel, also enhances Marvel's other physical abilities, provides physical invulnerability and resistance against most magic spells and attacks, and allows for inter-dimensional travel. Marvel can use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or target. The magical lightning has many uses, including creating apparatus, restoring damage done to Marvel, or acting as fuel for magical spells. :*Invulnerability: If he were somehow wounded, his godly energies would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo or for a number of Olympian gods of equal power working together to revive him. :*Magical Resistance'' :*''Physical Enhancement'' :*''Inter-dimensional Travel:'' This can only be used to travel to the Rock of Eternity :*''Spell Source'' :*''Advanced Healing'' :A for the Courage of Achilles: Like the wisdom, this aspect is primarily psychological, and gives Marvel superhuman amounts of inner strength from which to draw. :*''Superhuman Inner Strength: He is always supported by an innate and harmonious presence of good will and strength of perseverance that he never backs down from a challenge. :'M for the Speed of Mercury': By channeling Mercury's speed, Captain Marvel can fly and move at supersonic speeds while in atmosphere and at faster-than-light speed while in space. Hermes Trismegistus (Greek for "thrice-great Hermes"), an occultist aspect of Hermes/Mercury, also gives him the ability to wield magic and cast spells, though Billy has never used this as Captain Marvel, apparently because he doesn't know how. :*Supersonic Speed: He can move at incredible speeds, possibly equal to Superman, but maybe approaching that of Quicksilver who can attain speeds up to the speed of light (182,272 mph). He can move fast enough to not register in the normal peripheral range of humans and seemingly vanish and disappear at will. At this speed, his mind processes information at least on a subliminal level that he is aware of his surroundings. :*Flight: Captain Marvel can also mystically fly through the atmosphere through sure act of will, enabling him to soar through the atmosphere at sub-orbital levels and travel across the planet. He is immune from the effects of extreme height, such as dizziness and lightheadedness. With effort, he can travel from the earth to the moon, but he requires extra-precautionary paraphernalia for interstellar travel. :*Sorcery'' Rock of Eternity Connection: Currently Billy has not left his Captain Marvel form since Shazam died and as taking the role that his mentor had he now had physically changed in that form. As the new Guardian of the Rock of Eternity, Billy possesses even more power then he had as Captain Marvel. As the Guardian of the Rock of Eternity he is now one with the Rock as it is apart of him. In the the Tenth Age of Magic, Billy is 1000x more powerful (Knowing how to wield Magic now), and 1.000.000x more powerful while in the Rock of Eternity, in his Captain Marvel form. As Lord Marvel, Billy has even more power, among them: :Inherent Omnipresent: Apparently possessing the power to be everywhere, at all times (i.e. multiple dimensions and places in time). :Inherent Omniscience: Apparently possessing the power to know anything that he chooses to know and can be known. :Inherent Omnipotent: Apparently possessing the vast magical powers, and ability to many thing he wants. :Telepathy: ability to read the minds of others and project thoughts. :Sorcery: As the High Lord of Magic, Billy has omnipotent mastery of magics and mysticism. He truly knows magic and can cast spells to achieve a number of powerful results. Assume he could easily do anything with Amazing strength and effect. He has unlimited access to Personal, Universal and Dimensional Energies. :Cosmic Awareness: power to sense the presence of beings and objects in the universe. :Immortal | Abilities = Various. The knowledge he currently possesses is unending, therefore he is capable of anything. Multilingual: Thanks to the Wisdom of Solomon, he has the ability to understand, comprehend, and speak any language on earth, maybe even other planets. Genius-Level Intellect: He also is considered a genius among geniuses. Smooth Talker: Another facet of his intelligence is ability to talk his way out of situations, as a man with an unprecedented amount of wisdom, he prefers to talk, rather than fight. | Strength = In the past, on the same level as Superman if not more so. Nowadays he is much more powerful than most of the residents of New Earth. | Weaknesses = High Order Magic: Only the strongest of magics can affect him in any particular way, such as those wielded by the Spectre. | Equipment = All the mystical items belonging to Shazam. * Historama: Shazam owned the Historama that adorns the space near his throne at the Rock of Eternity. It functions as a crystal ball, but with Incredible range and accuracy. He activates the Historama by saying, "Historama show me...". The historama has incredible material strength and provides the following abilities: :* Clairvoyance :* Clairaudience :* Remote Sensing :* Extra-dimensional Detection :* True Sight :* Dimensional Travel :* Time Travel: ability to look into the past, and functions just like Dimensional Travel. The Historama does NOT actually travel through dimensions, time or space. These powers allow the Historama to "cleave through the barriers" to show the occupants of the Rock of Eternity what transpires in other dimensions and even other times. | Transportation = Teleportation, Flight | Weapons = | Notes = Hailed as "The World's Mightiest Mortal" in his adventures (and nicknamed "The Big Red Cheese" by archvillain Doctor Sivana, an epithet adopted by fans as a nickname for their hero), Captain Marvel was (based on sales) the most popular superhero of the 1940s. The Captain Marvel Adventures series sold more copies than Superman's Action Comics and other competing superhero books 12. Captain Marvel was also the first superhero to be adapted into film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel and Marvel Family comics in 1953. This was due to both a general decline in the popularity of superheroes and a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman. DC licensed the Marvel Family characters in 1972 and acquired all rights in 1980. Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have been integrated into the DC Universe, and DC has attempted a few revivals. Captain Marvel has not regained widespread appeal with new generations, although a 1970s Shazam! live action television series featuring the character was very popular. Due to the fact that Marvel Comics trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book during the interim between the original Captain Marvel's Fawcett years and DC years, DC Comics is unable to promote and market their Captain Marvel/Marvel Family properties under that name. They decided to use the word "Shazam" (based upon the aforementioned magic word as well as the name of the wizard) as the title of their comic book and thus the name under which they would market and promote the character. As a result, Captain Marvel himself is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Shazam." | Trivia = * Captain Marvel's adventures have contributed a number of elements to both comic book culture and pop culture in general. The most notable of these is the regular use of Superman and Captain Marvel as adversaries in Modern Age comic book stories. The Superman/Captain Marvel rivalry has its origins in a popular comics story in MAD Magazine no. 4 from 1953, entitled "Superduperman", which was inspired by the Fawcett/DC legal battles. In the story, Superduperman (an obvious Superman doppelganger) does battle with the Captain Marvel-esque Captain Marbles. Marbles' magic word was not "SHAZAM", but "SHAZOOM", which stood for Strength, Health, Aptitude, Zeal, Ox—power of, Ox—power of another, and Money. After DC revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s, they followed MAD's cue and often pitted Captain Marvel and Superman against each other for any number of reasons, but usually as an inside joke to the characters' long battles in court; they are otherwise staunch allies who get along very well with each other. Notable Superman/Captain Marvel battles in DC Comics stores include All-New Collectors' Edition #C-58 (1979), All-Star Squadron #37 (1984), Superman #102 (1995), the final issue of the Kingdom Come miniseries (1996), and most recently in Superman #216 (2005). The "Clash" episode of Justice League Unlimited, which included Captain Marvel as a guest character, featured a Superman/Captain Marvel fight as its centerpiece. * Captain Marvel was the first major comic book hero to have a young alter ego. Although kid superheroes had generally been neglected before Marvel's introduction, kid sidekicks soon became commonplace shortly after Marvel's success: Robin was paired with Batman in May 1940, and Captain America was introduced with sidekick Bucky in March 1941. The idea of a young boy who transformed into a superhero proved popular enough to inspire a number of superheroes who undergo similar transformations, including Marvel Comics' Darkhawk, Malibu Comics' Prime, and animated/action figure superheroes such as Hanna-Barbera's Mighty Mightor and Young Samson, Mattel/Filmation's He-Man, and Warner Bros. Television's Freakazoid. Other heroes, including Marvel Comics' Thor, undergo similarly magical transformations from a weak human form to a god-empowered form. * In pop culture, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel's magic word, "Shazam!", became a popular exclamation from the 1940s on, often used in place of an expletive. The most notable user of the word "Shazam!" in this form was Gomer Pyle from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Elvis Presley was a fan of Captain Marvel, Jr. comic books as a child. Elvis later styled his hair to look like Freddy Freeman's and based his stage jumpsuits and TCB lightning logo on Captain Marvel Jr.'s costume and lightning-bolt insignia. Actor Cary Grant said that some of his younger fans told him they thought he bore an uncanny resemblance to Captain Marvel. * Even more than ten years after the character first disappeared, the superhero was still used for jokes, such as in The Monkees when Peter Tork tried to escape the ropes he was tied up in by yelling "Shazam!", only to magically break a mirror and sheepishly note that it's seven years bad luck for Captain Marvel. Several other episodes of The Monkees had Captain Marvel references, including using the name "Freddy Freeman" in dialogue. Captain Marvel also made a cameo in The Beatles song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." Another catchphrase popularized by Captain Marvel was his trademark exclamation, "Holy Moley!" * In the Fox Network animated series American Dad!, Steve's favorite t-shirt has Captain Marvel's signature lightning bolt insignia on it (although he repeatedly refers to it as a "Shazam" shirt, which is technically incorrect). Additionally, Captain Marvel made a cameo appearance in an episode of ABC Network's The Drew Carey Show as part of a dream sequence. | DC = | Wikipedia = Captain Marvel (DC Comics) | Links = *Captain Marvel Culture: The history and cultural significance of the many Captain Marvels *''Captain Marvel at the Guide to the Mythological Universe'' * Recommended Readings *Captain Marvel Adventures *The Trials of Shazam! *Infinite Crisis *52 }} Category:Marvel Family members Category:Black Hair Category:Golden Age Category:Flight Category:Super-Speed Category:Energy Projection Category:Natural energy blasts Category:Natural enhanced senses Category:Natural flight Category:Natural invulnerability Category:Regeneration Category:Natural superhuman strength